The field of the present invention relates to an apparatus facilitating the extraction of a child during childbirth.
In some instances during childbirth, a completely natural birth is not possible and assistance must be rendered by the attending physician in order for the child to be delivered. Such assistance may be rendered with forceps and other similar devices, but these devices tend to be bulky and difficult to operate and their use introduces some chance of injury or discomfort to the mother and child. An alternative to forceps is a vacuum extractor device which uses a vacuum cup for attachment onto the head of the child. Joined to the cup is an elongated stem which is used to manipulate the cup. The physician may then apply a pulling force, accompanied by the proper positioning, to be transmitted to the child's head by manipulation of the stem of the device.
An existing obstetrical vacuum extractor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,152. That patent describes a vacuum operated device, more specifically a vacuum cup, for attaching to the head of a child, an elongated stem joined to the cup which is used to manipulate the cup thereby enabling a pulling force to be applied to the child's head. Although that patent describes an effective vacuum extractor, the device can be difficult to manipulate into position onto the child's head.
Another existing vacuum extractor is the Malmstrdm device which has a vacuum cup with a rubber tube attached thereto. A vacuum is applied to the cup through the rubber tube. A chain is attached at one end to the cup and runs through the tube where it may be grasped by the physician in order to extract the cup. The Malmstrom device can only apply a pulling force and does not provide the physician with control to manipulate the child's head.